Improvement in window-cord pulleys



J. W. BLISS.

WINDOW com) PULLEY.

No. 10,540; Patented Feb. 21, 1854.

'ml uomm mum. mam-Luna. WAsHm UNITED STATES JEREMY W. BLISS OF HARTFORD CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT lN WINDOW-CORD PULL EYS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 10,540, dated February 21, 1854.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, JEREMY W. BLISS, of the city and county of Hartford,in the State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Window-Cord Pulleys, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, and in which -Figure 1 represents a front elevation of my improved window-cord pulley detached; Fig. 2, a top view of the same; and Fig. 3, aside view of the pulley in its place in the windowframe, the frame being shown in section.

Like many other simple contrivances the window-cord pulley is one which has heretofore aroused but little attention to its improvement, and yet the large demand for these articles is such that aught which will tend to reduce their cost, improve their utility and durability, or afford increased facilities and advantages in their use is a matter of greater importance not only to the manufacturer, but also to the builder and house-holder or tenant than may at first sight be imagined.

The present ordinary window-cord pulley is defective both in its construction and mode of hanging. It is costly, involving much time and labor in fitting the sheave and shell together, in drilling, riveting, &c. When secured and in its place, it cannot readily be re moved and taken apart either for the purpose Y of cleaning and oiling, which is sometimes desirable where the sheave has remained for a long time stationary, nor yet when a flaw in the pulley, undiscovered at the time of putting up, (or when a jerk or accident causes breakage or the. lodgment of the sash balance-weight on a nail or other obstruction in the pocket,) requires the removal of the 'pulley to dislodge the weight; but under many other circumstances besides these is the ready 1 removal of the pulley an object of importance.

In the ordinary mode of hanging the pulley the screws which hold the shell at its top and bottom to the window-frame form in many respects an objectionable mode of fastening. They iffrequently taken out soon lose their hold upon the wood. They corrode in course of time and the threads become more or less destroyed, so that they cannot be unscrewed, and it becomes necessary to draw them and rupture the wood or break the shell to extract it and the sheave, and unless the screw-heads exactly fit the countersinks in the face of the shell they give an unsightly appearance to' the whole arrangement, while the head'of the lower screw, if protruding from the face of the shell is apt to jag and cut the cord during its vibrations or tremulous motion'in raising or lowering the sash, and this is a commoncause of that troublesome annoyance which so frequently happens-namely, the breaking of the window-cord. Theprotrusion of the head of the lower screw thus chafing the cord is sometimes due to the head being too large for the countersink-recess in the face of the shell, but more frequently it arises from the pressure which is thrown upon the shell to force it outward at the bottom by the weight of the sash and its balance being suspended on the one side (inside) of the bearing-surface of the shell in the window-frame, so that the shell is caused to spring outward, drawing the lower screw with it, and in time, by the jerks to which the abrupt raising and lowering of the sash subject it, to work itself loose. To remove these defects by so constructing the pulley that its manufacture is economized, the labor attendant upon fitting it together and in its place is reduced, and its utility, durability, andconvenience generally improved by hanging it so that it may be readily removed and taken apart without detaching the cord fromthe. sash or its weight, and dispensing with the present objectionable arrangement of screws to secure it, constitute the novel features of the present invention.

The shell or case of the pulleyis-made in two parts or halves A and A, thedivision being that of a vertical plane through the center of it, intersecting alike the face a and back box part of the shell, as indicated by the central dividing-line a; in Figs. 1 and 2.

These halves are fitted loosely together by angular tags or teeth I), cast on the inside edge of the one half and fitting into similarlyshaped recesses in the other half. The sheave B, which runs within the box part of the shell and projects slightly in front of the face thereof, has its hearings in the sides of the shell and in hub projections on the inside thereof, instead of, as usual, on the outside, whereby all cutting away of the windowframe for the hubs to enter is avoided. The sheave-pivots and their bearings also are made tapering to reduce friction by inducing the sheave to run in the center and thereby obviatin g the rubbing of the sides of the sheave against the shell. The ends of the face-piece of the shell are likewise made rounded instead of square to facilitate the letting of them into the window-frame by boring their recesses with a brace instead of cutting them with a chisel.

The box part of the shell where it joins the face a is made to slightly taper downward backwardly at its top, so that when the shell, with the sheave in it, is crowded into its place in the window-frame it will be wedged therein sufficiently tight to form the requisite hold at the top, where there is little or no tendency on the part of the sash or its weight to throw it out; or a bolt 0 may be arranged on the inside of the frame to hold the shell at the top. This bolt may work in a vertical groove of dovetail form or within a strap 2 on the back or inside face of the windowframe strip 0 and be arranged so that it drops into a hole e in the top edge of the shell; or the bolt may be otherwise fitted so that it will freely slide and may be forced downwardto lock the shell by a spring d.

The under side of the box part of the shell where it joins the face a at the bottom is somewhat differently constructed and forms the main and may be the only stay to keep the pulley in its place in the window-frame.

It (the bottom of the shell) is made of' a quickbevel shape, inclining downward backwardly, forming a wedge-seat f, from the inner or back extremity of which is a projecting tooth S, that bites into or laps over the bottom edge of the pulley-mortise in the windowframe strip G, the bottom end of the said mortise being cut inclined to correspond with the bevel-seat or bearing-surface f of the shell.

To put the sheave and its shell, or what in combination is commonly denominated the pulley, in its place, the lower end of the face-piece a is seated in its recess in the frame-stripC, and the upper portion of it forced backward into its seat till the Whole face-piece occupies its recess,when the wedgeseat f of the shell rests upon the lower end of the mortise, and the tooth 8 takes its bite into or laps over the frame-strip C. The action of the wedge form of the shell at its top and of the locking-boltc, upon the pulley being crowded into its place, has already been described. Now it will readily be perceived that the inside or lateral position of the sheave-center causes the sash and its balance by their weight to exert, in addition to the downward pressure, a tendency to throw the shell outward at its bottom. This tendency is counteracted or met by the inclined position of the wedge-seat f,that in order to move outward must necessarily rise and the shell in rising be obliged to lift along with it the heavy sash and its balance, the weight of tooth s will further restrain the tendency to outward movement and serve to keep the shell vertical. 1e close fit which is provided the shell at the top in the mortise prevents the shell rising to admit of its wedgeshaped bottom being thrown outward, supposing that the weightofthe sash and its balance were not sufficient to keep it down.

The lateral position of the point of suspension of the sash and its weight destroys all tendency on the part of the shell in an ordinary way to jump out at the top, and thelock or bolt which is represented inthe'drawings 'merely serves in cases of very severe and abrupt jerking to restrain any tendency that it might have to play there; but the lateral position of the sheave rather causes the weight of the sash audits balance to draw the shell inward at the top and by the slight incline at the top to force the shell down on its seat, so that the locking-bolt 0 may in many in stances be dispensed with. p 7

To take the pulley out of the window-frame,

a bit of bent wire or anything else convenient at hand may be entered through the sheave-recess at the top and be caused to unlock the bolt by forcing it upward and to bear against the inside of the shell, so as to spring or start it out of the mortise at the top, as represented by red lines in Fi 3,when it may be drawn up and out by the fingers, and immediately on coming out of the frame the shell, being fitted loosely together in halves, is taken or drops apart and the sheave ex tracted; or, if the locking-bolt c be dispensed prized out at the top by forcing the face-piece a from its inner side outward by any suitable instrument introduced through the sheaverecess and thus brought to bear against the face-piece at the top.

By this construction and mode of hanging the pulley the greatest facility is afforded for cleaning or repairing it. The pulley is put in the window-frame and taken out with dispatch without involving any necessity whatever to detach the cord, and offers great convenience for adjusting the cord should the weight be found to stick, &c. The pulley is cheap in its construction, involving no drilling or riveting of its sides together. Its utility and durability are enlarged by reason of the facilities which are afforded for cleaning it. The usual trouble and labor attendant bottom, by screws through the face-piece are avoided, while the specified objections attendant upon the use of said screws, as regards their rusting, working loose, and protrudin g, so as to chafe the cord and giving an unsightly appearance, are done away with, and a firmer, more expeditious, and cheaper mode, by the wedge-seat of the shell and its tooth, substituted.

The method herein described of hanging which will restrain it from doing so, while the i with, the shell may at once be startedor upon the old ,method of securing it, top and the pulley may be applied to the ordinarydescription of shell or case, in which the box part and face-piece are riveted together 01' otherwise inseparably united.

.I do not claim separately'of itself making 1 the box part of the shell and its face-piece in of the cord without detaching the latter, and. whereby the shell with its pulley, when in their place, cannot be moved outward without raising the sash and its weight,,fasteningscrews are dispensed with, the chafing of the cord avoided, and the entry and removal of the pulley facilitated, as specified.

2. The combination and arrangement of the back locking-bolt c with the wedge-formed seat f and described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto sub scribed my name.

JEREMY NV. BLISS.

Witnesses:

O. I; HOADLY, H. K. W. WELOH.

projecting tooth s, as shown and 

